Sunita Kejriwal reads out message from Delhi CM Kejriwal held in ED custody

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal read out on Saturday a message by her husband, who is in custody of the Enforcement Directorate, in which he said that no prison can keep him inside and he will come out "very soon" and fulfil his promises.

"Your son and brother Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has sent a message from the jail," Sunita Kejriwal said citing her husband.

"My dear countrymen I have been arrested. Whether I am inside the jail or not, I will continue to serve the country. My entire life is dedicated to the country. I have struggled a lot in my life, and I know that this will continue. Therefore, this arrest has not surprised me," Kejriwal said in a statement read out on video by his wife.

The Delhi Chief Minister also urged Aam Aadmi Party's workers to not hate BJP members because of his arrest.

"I also appeal to all the workers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that work of social welfare and public welfare should not stop with me going to jail. Don't hate BJP people due to this. They are our brothers and sisters. I will come back soon," he said as cited by Sunita Kejriwal.

Arvind Kejriwal said that no prison can keep him inside and he would come out soon and fulfil his promise.

"There are several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country. We have to be alert, identify these forces and defeat them. Women in Delhi must be thinking that Kejriwal is behind bars. Who knows if they would get Rs 1000. I appeal to them to trust their brother, their son. There is no jail that can keep him behind bars for long. Main jald bahar aaounga (I will come out soon) and keep my promise," Sunita Kejriwal said while reading out the message by the Delhi Chief Minister.

On Friday, Sunita Kejriwal said that the arrest of her husband is a "betrayal" with the people who have elected him to power thrice.

In a post on X, she hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that Kejriwal was arrested due to the PM's "arrogance of power."

"Modiji got your thrice elected Chief Minister arrested out of arrogance of power. He is trying to crush everyone. This is a betrayal of the people of Delhi. Your Chief Minister has always stood with you," she said in a post in Hindi.

She further said that Arvind Kejriwal has dedicated his life to the country, irrespective of whether he is inside the jail or outside.

The Delhi Chief Minister was on Friday remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for seven days i.e., till March 28, a day after he was arrested by the probe agency in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case linked to a money laundering case.

Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court passed the order after Kejriwal was produced yesterday following his arrest on March 21 night by the central probe agency.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy case 2022, which was later scrapped.

The arrest by the central agency has drawn severe criticism for the BJP-led centre from the opposition leaders.

The AAP will "gherao" the prime minister's residence on March 26 to register its protest against Kejriwal's arrest by the ED, the party's leader Gopal Rai said yesterday.

Kejriwal's arrest came days after the ED arrested Bharat Rashta Samithi (BRS) leader and daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao K Kavitha, in connection with its investigation into money laundering charges linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. Kavitha is in ED custody till March 23.

Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the excise policy case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.